Chapter Nineteen
It did not take Lucy months to feel safe again. It was as if saying her piece had transformed her. She expressed her pain and her fears. She saw the shame in Cedric’s eyes, and she felt all the wrenching agony of a love destroyed.
Tears and pain followed. She drenched her pillow in a tidal wave of tears. But in time, the storm passed. She slept. She ate. And soon, she could breathe again.
She stopped hoarding food. She put away her satchel of trinkets and did not think of it again. Cedric was right. She was safe. Her father had not abandoned them. Grace was going to be a duchess. And whether it was her father, Grace or the Duke, she would be cared for.
She would never starve.
That was so momentous a shift that it took her some time to adjust. It helped that she was now officially ‘out’. She could go to parties with Grace and their new friend Phoebe. Finally, she was able to meet all those men who were supposed to fall at her feet. And since Grace was now engaged to a duke, the three of them were invited everywhere.
She tried not to be aware of Cedric. She didn’t listen when gossip reached her ears. If he were at a party when she arrived, he immediately departed. And if all those men asking her todance weren’t distraction enough, she also helped with the plans for Grace and Declan’s wedding.
And yet, she learned what Cedric was doing anyway.
He was gathering investors for a ship and cargo. Everyone was talking about how experienced he was now that he had spent so much time working onThe Integrity. Prinny was said to be so impressed that he invested, as well. And once the royal invested, others joined.
She heard other things, too. Things that she didn’t understand. Cedric was touting the wonders of a children’s book? And he knew of a man who could repair canals for a moderate price. Indeed, for a man who existed on the edge of society, she heard a great deal of what he was doing.
She didn’t care. She was meeting eligible bachelors. And they were very exciting…for a time. Dancing was fun. Living life as a pampered woman was fun. But all too soon, she became bored. The men did not have a twinkle in their eyes like Cedric. They did not ask her about her interests. What they did want to know was exactly how much money was in her dowry.
In that way, they were exactly like Cedric. And she couldn’t have despised them more.
And yet, she still dressed in fine new clothes, smiled brightly at Grace and the Duke, and then pretended to love every moment of it. Including the night they went to the theatre.
It was hard to hear among the crush of people. The Duke had a box of his own, so that helped. It lifted them up above all the people milling about on the floor.
She’d never been to the theatre before. Never seen actors on the stage performing a tale. Most everyone here knew the stories they acted. It was part of their English heritage. But she didn’t know them. Neither did Grace. And so they watched with rapt attention at the beginning.
But the language of the tragedy was in a form of English that was hard for her to understand. There were words she couldn’t follow about kings and queens she’d never heard of before. And though she enjoyed it, the strain was significant.
She needed a break. Indeed, her sister did, too. And so when Lucy indicated she needed to find the ladies’ retiring room, Grace went with her. The chatter here was equally loud and soon the two sisters escaped to walk slowly down the hall back towards their box.
They’d barely made it up the stairs when she heard his voice.
Cedric.
He was laughing with a couple, the sound light if not exactly happy. They were talking cargo and coin, what would be purchased and sold for profit. Her interest piqued, her head lifted, and naturally she wanted to listen to the conversation. The exchange of goods always interested her. But it was Cedric’s voice that drew her most. There was a new quality to his speech that interested her.
They rounded the corner and saw each other. She was acquainted with the couple, Lord and Lady Deforte, who were of an older generation. The man was genial, as far as she remembered, but the lady was a known gossip. Her eyes lit up when she saw Lucy and Grace, and she immediately waved them over.
‘Why it’s the Misses Richards! Come here! You must join us. No, no, Lord Domac, don’t go. I’m sure it’s all water under the bridge now. No need to run away.’
What a shrew! Barely one month had passed since the disaster at Almack’s. Lady Deforte was looking for gossip. She wanted to see how Grace and Cedric interacted so she could tell everyone about the way he still pined for her. But his gaze was on Lucy, and hers on him.
‘You look well, my lord,’ Lucy said as she and Grace performed their curtsies.
‘Thank you,’ he said, his voice rough. ‘You look…’ He shook his head. ‘Astonishing.’ He turned to Grace. ‘You both do.’
‘What a delightful thing to say,’ Lady Deforte gushed. ‘What exactly seems to astound you, my lord?’
He smiled winningly at the lady. ‘Only that such beauty surrounds me tonight. I fear with the three of you ladies here, no one will watch the stage. All will watch you as if you were Helen of Troy directing the way of their hearts.’
The lady pinked and giggled. Cedric was always able to flirt, but now Lucy saw how smoothly he turned a shrew into a blushing girl. Odd that she wasn’t jealous. Indeed, she was pleased that he need not suffer any sleight or jab from the woman.
Meanwhile, Grace was looking towards their box. ‘A pleasure to see you three again, but—’
‘Have you heard?’ Lady Deforte interrupted. ‘Lord Cedric is getting together a ship and cargo. Prinny himself has invested!’